We Who Battle
by Ruler of Destiny
Summary: Short looks into the lives of the sword bearers, who sometimes know what they're doing, but mostly don't. It may not always be easy, but when did that ever stop them? Not nearly as often as it should have, to be honest. Embarrassment will have to do the rest.
1. Shizuku

Hitsugi-san always has a plan. Plans upon plans upon plans. Most are tossed aside before she even finishes thinking about them, once she suspects they won't live up to their full potential, or cause the reactions she desires.

"_Shizuku! I have the most wonderf-"_

"_No."_

Some she gives up on the moment I show a remarkable lack of interest them. There are more of these moments than the student body, even the student council, is aware of. Sometimes, the only signs she gives are small pauses, a thoughtful look, a slow growing grin, a small hum. They're nearly impossible to differentiate from her normal behavior. All it takes for me to dissuade her from letting those plans come to fruition is a shuffle or light tapping of my fingers on whatever papers I was carrying. A look, for the most persistent ideas, and putting papers down in front of her slightly harder than necessary for those with the potential for even worse.

The council, with perhaps the occasional exception of Inori-san, remains unaware that I save them from a potentially migraine-inducing spectacle on a daily basis. I'm certain this is for the best. They are much happier in their ignorance of the multitude of outrageous, daring, embarrassing, exhausting, or just plain weird ideas their Kaicho comes up with by the minute. The only thing that saves us all from the insanity of Hitsugi-san's incredibly low boredom tolerance is her equally low attention span for anything that isn't sword fighting.

"_We're expecting a delivery. Do retrieve it, will you Shizuku? Precious items such as these should not be entrusted to the unworthy."_

"_...You're talking about Hikaru-san, aren't you?"_

For the most part, she concentrates most of her efforts toward keeping things hidden from me. Until it's too late for me to interfere, at any rate. It was easier in the beginning, when she was using school funds to order props. By my third year of junior high, I could navigate through the piles of paperwork and budget reports faster than half of the secretaries, solely due to the amount of times I had to follow the paper trails Hitsugi-san left when another idea had taken hold of her attention.

Now she's careful not to overuse her methods, never letting me fully adapt to her way of thinking. Tatewaki is usually the pawn she happily abuses toward this end, as any interference on my end would incur only wrathful feelings from the bespectacled girl. Despite her (incredibly vocal) disdain for the adoring helper, Hitsugi-san is not one to waste resources. Unfortunately, things tend to go awry when Tatewaki is left alone to organize events, which I believe is the reason Hitsugi-san continues to allow it. She has no problem placing all the blame on the girl. In fact, she is usually rather delighted to do so.

"_Shizuku. My sword bearers have become rather...lax these last few weeks. I believe some inspiration is in order."_

"_Just don't go overboard please. We don't want another obstacle course incident."_

Once in a while there will be a lull in hoshitori participation. It's hardly surprising. In a school full of teenagers, even the most dedicated fighter can become distracted. These girls are at the age where they are in a volatile stage, where they are determining the kind of person they are, and the person they want to be. Hitsugi-san, however, can't abide these times if they continue past what _she_ considers the barely tolerable time limit of two hoshitori events. She expects more dedication out of the sword bearers than most are truly capable of.

After the spectacle that was her first attempt to liven up the students, I made a compromise with her. I allow her to arrange any kind of event she wants to correct those situations unhindered as long as she keeps it mildly simple. In her defense, the plan was a good one. We just hadn't yet figured out how disastrously wrong things tend to go when sword bearers are involved. As it turns out, I was the one who was most injured at the end of that disaster, a result of me pulling a fearful sword bearer out of harms way. Sitting there trying to keep hold on consciousness while a grateful girl sobbed all over me and Kimihara-san, the school nurse at the time, frantically hovered about, I watched for the first time as Hitsugi-san directed an openly annoyed glare at a student.

I sometimes wonder if it was my pitiful state at that moment that swayed her more than the half-successful event did. I'd been desperate when throwing that deal at her and though we rarely bring it up, she has yet to argue against it.

"_Shizuku, do you not feel the charged air? The energy that is permeating the school? Perhaps I shall arrange a reward for my sword bearers."_

"_Please tell me those firework websites you've been looking at have nothing to do with this."_

The big events, the ones that the students and staff alike fear, always start innocently enough. Hitsugi-san will pitch an idea and after several days of brainstorming will decide on the biggest, loudest, most explosive version. It's during these times that we're nigh inseparable. The amount of planning we're required to do is astronomical, and most of the work is handled by the two of us and Tatewaki (who doesn't count in Hitsugi-san's mind). We spend all day, at school and at home, bouncing numbers, names, props, and everything we can think of between us in order to ensure all possibilities are prepared for.

That doesn't, unfortunately, mean that I know _everything _about the events_._ Hitsugi-san always has a plan after all, and I eventually get so swamped with minor details and organizing that I leave most of the final organizing to her. Some sideshow or stipulation gets past me every time, and I berate myself every time. It doesn't help that many times she merely issues vague orders to Tatewaki, who will go off on her own to rig things on her end. I can never stay angry for long though. A successful surprise puts Hitsugi-san in a good mood for several weeks. I don't really appreciate the constant teasing and reminders of whatever plan escaped me, but those weeks are the closest to "relaxing" I ever get. Usually only because the students are too worn out from the event and Hitsugi-san is content to let things rest for a little.

"_Shizuku! I sense something is afoot. Come! We must venture out to discover the source of this feeling!"_

"_As if Hikaru-san hasn't already informed you of whatever has caught your interest this time. And please don't slam the door to make a dramatic entrance._"

The unexpected events, the ones I can never prepare for and the ones Hitsugi-san lives for, are among the most amusing. They're always the result of some trouble stirred up by the sword bearers, and Hitsugi-san joyously makes them _worse._ The clean up is often left to me, the staff involved, and whatever guard members incurred the wrath of the Captain and were placed on janitor duty. Not that the regular students don't have their own moments. I could name quite a few particularly spectacular debacles off the top of my head, but Hitsugi-san isn't interested in them. The sword bearers are her one and only concern_._

It's sad, in a way. Hitsugi-san truly only cares for the sword bearers and isn't afraid to make it known. After my first year of watching a building resentment among the regular students I took up the task of fulfilling the duties she neglected. It was a hard adjustment. I'd never been intended to take any sort of role in leading the school, and I certainly didn't have the training or knowledge for it. I endured no small amount of condescension and outright hostility among students and staff alike as I struggled to take my place in a realm I was never meant to tread. I wasn't an Amachi, there was no need to grant me any respect (grudging or otherwise). Hitsugi-san's strong support and my own will were the only defenses I had as I struggled under the weight of my decision. I refused to let that deter me, refused to give in.

Hitsugi-san had been unusually pensive when I informed her of my intentions. She'd been amused, yes, and proud at my willingness, but also guilty that her behavior had led to me taking up a burden I was woefully unprepared for. Despite her guilt, changing her actions was something she never considered. Not Amachi Hitsugi. She allowed me to do as I pleased, helped when I asked (though more often when I _didn't_), but made no attempt to minimize her favoritism or take a more active role in regards to the regular students beyond what was required of her station.

I hadn't expected her to.

"_Ah, Shizuku! Good morning."_

"_...What did you do to the house?!"_

The year I took up the true role of vice-principal is also the year Hitsugi-san began arranging "surprises" at home as well. She'd always had an idea for an adventure or ten as a child, and her imagination (and access to resources) had only grown since. The first time I woke up to a lavishly decorated mansion I'd turned right back into my room, convinced that I was dreaming. I still do that more times than I ought to, but hope springs eternal.

I think the first few incidents were purely out of that small kernel of guilt. She wanted to do something special for me in order to make the both of us feel better about my decision. It worked in some ways. It certainly got my mind off my exhaustion for a few hours, and the days I spent fuming over her stunts went by much smoother for me. I believed she once phrased it as "taking advantage of my lowered patience when my mental state is disturbed in order to encourage me to take a firmer stance among my new coworkers." She _continued_ with the games because she discovered that my reactions changed based on my mood and the amount of sleep I'd had. As nearly every reaction other than indifference amuses her, it quickly became her staple source of amusement at my expense.

"_Good morning Shizuku. Merry Christmas."_

"_Morning. Merry Christmas Hitsugi-san."_

Holidays are, no doubt in spite of what most assume, rather subdued at home. We each have our own reasons, but mornings are spent with low chatter and a sense of calm I so rarely experience. I take advantage of the peace and sleep in, though if I sleep too long Hitsugi-san will slip into my room to wake me. Loudly. In the morning we exchange presents of a sort, no matter the holiday, which prompts several hours worth of teasing from my friend.

Despite the calm of the days themselves, that doesn't mean that the house isn't richly decorated to the point of eye-searing tackiness and the table isn't free from a mountain of food prepared by a sorely overworked cook. The two of us could never finish that much food by ourselves, so I end up wheeling carts of food over to the guards training center for lunch. They never fail to welcome me...assuming the guards are conscious at the time it arrives.

The weeks leading up to the holidays, aside from dodging stray ornaments, are also spent avoiding constant attempts at cajoling me into dubious looking outfits and cursing the day puberty hit Hitsugi-san. Playing on people's emotions is her favorite game and she knows exactly how to draw nearly any reaction from me, but she doesn't understand what she does to my state of mind. She only cares for the potential outburst of anger or embarrassment. Many of her comments stray dangerously close to inappropriate, and she flirts with that line as she does everything else: with a smirk. I have to be especially on guard during holidays, where the rise in borderline inappropriate comments is directly proportionate to the energy level in the school.

The lack of comprehension frustrates and hurts me in ways I can't begin to describe. Twice, I have seen that spark, the beginning of an understanding I both fear and need. It never lasted longer than a second. There is a gap between us, but I can't even see the other side much less make a leap for it. I don't know if it's true unawareness or simply an inability to recognize what the nature of our separation is on her part, but I am constantly burdened with the feeling that I'm not nearly as important to my friend as she is to me.

"_Happy birthday Shizuku!"_

"_Oh. Ah. Thank you."_

Birthdays are my favorite days. There are no surprises, no students to deal with, and no paperwork to finish. There is only the promise of a day where I can truly relax, laugh, and play with my closest friend, free of any burden or expectation. When we were young we would celebrate with our families and we cannot bring ourselves to break that, even if it's just the two of us these days.

On these two days a year, Hitsugi-san is happy to spend half the day sitting on the couch playing video games or busying herself on the laptop in search of either new ideas for the hoshitori while I read. We have cake at night, and then a movie marathon. The last few years, Hitsugi-san has taken to pulling me as close as possible without putting me into her lap and happily settling into place.

Any other time, and it would have been a tortuous trial that raised my hopes dangerously high. I don't allow myself to dwell on it during these days. I need one day, just one single day, where I just accept things as they are and do not think of what they _could _be. This is more difficult than it sounds, as we rarely ever share physical contact of any sort outside sparring. I can't help but want to burn the feeling into my memory out of fear of the day when we no longer can. A part of me thinks that she is, in some way, doing the same.

I don't allow myself to dwell on those thoughts either, because my greatest fear is that she is continuing on without me, vaguely aware that I had long started to slip from her side. I fear that if the time ever comes, she won't _care _that I am no longer at her side.

"Shizuku? What are you thinking about? You've been rather quiet."

"Oh. Just...thinking about surprises."

Hitsugi-san is quiet for a long time. Longer than I am comfortable with. I don't care for her thought processes when she has _that _sort of smirk in her eyes. Her hand rubs my arm slowly as she considers my answer. She says my name again, her voice thoughtful.

"Yes, Hitsugi-san?"

"You wouldn't, by chance, happen to be planning your great escape from here, would you?"

I freeze inside. She is joking, of course. She's always joking. "Of course not." A frustrated sigh easily mistaken for exasperation is the only hint of my inner turmoil. After all this time, it's the most I'm capable of showing.

The arm around me pulls me closer and I know that she is not yet satisfied with this game, that she is going to press the issue as usual. "Promise? You need not concern yourself with my opinion. I shall happily support your decision should you feel the urge to venture off on a grand quest." She pushes against me mockingly, as if she were pushing me onto the road of my "grand quest" with encouragement. I know she is only playing, teasing me out of boredom, but it _hurts_.

My throat tightens and my eyes burn. I do not immediately speak. The pause is an answer in itself that Hitsugi will catch, but fail to understand. "I promise, Hitsugi-san." It's unnatural, in a way, that when all I want to do is bury my head in a pillow and shut out the world, I can act so normal. How can I fake annoyance when all that is ringing through me is pain?

She blinks at my pause, then shrugs off her confusion and laughs. "I cannot say I mind _that_ either." she says contently, the momentary uncertainty forgotten in her mind. Her arm is loose again, as if my promise is all she needs to be sure of my continued presence.

And, when it comes down to it, it is. A part of me is choking, desperately trying to draw air as I feel myself being slowly crushed under the weight of my words, of that _one _word. Promise. I'd promised that I'll stay, just like I always do when she asks. No matter how much it hurts, how much my heart breaks, I will stay with her for as long as she wants me to, and the only effort it will require on her part is a single question.

"If you dotake your leave, I shall outfit you with the finest armor!"

"_No thank you_."

She doesn't understand, maybe even _can't_ understand how difficult it is for me to be near her knowing that we are unequal in every way. She doesn't know how every promise I make twists the knife a little farther in, how each failure is another wound that refuses heal.

"Are you certain? You would look quite dashing atop a great steed, knightly armor reflecting in the sun, elegant sword at your side."

I wonder if it would matter if she did.

"Wha? This is the wrong era for that type of thing! _And_ the wrong country!"

Hitsugi has never been one for change in herself, after all.

**~End~**

**I know, it's kinda depressing. I'd feel worse for Shizuku if I didn't have an even _more _depressing idea bouncing around in my head. Also, to give you hope, I do intend for this to expand some more by (eventually) adding first person views for other characters. I have a Momoka one started, and a sorta Sae one in rough draft stage (that I am avoiding like the damned plague 'cause Sae is _hard_ to write and it refuses to settle down into a nice format). Those _aren't _depressing, no worries. And no, I will not be doing a Valentines one so don't get your hopes up.**

**I do have a couple in the works for Tigers, but as they've been "in the works" since before...Halloween, actually, I'm not sure when I'll go back and work on those.**

**Anyway! That is your update from me! I am still alive out here, somehow, though I will say that at the moment I have a horrendous headache, a halfway healed tailbone, a slightly infected knuckle, a small but annoyingly painful cut on my finger, a messed up foot, _and _a messed up knee. All this, and I still crawled out to the library (I cheated and took the bus). You guys better appreciate this!**


	2. Momoka

"_Hey. Inugami Isuzu, right?"_

I don't know what I was thinking, walkin' up to Wanko out of the blue, face and clothes still bloody with bruises everywhere and my hair sticking out every which way, asking her to be my partner. I musta looked a damned fright, and I wouldn't have blamed her for runnin' off when I stopped her.

"_Look, uh, sorry about all that stuff before."_

Maybe it was 'cause I'd just lost Rio-nee, or 'cause my head was still spinning like crazy from losing all that blood. Mighta been exhaustion from taking a beating that put the ones Kurogane takes to shame. Or maybe I was still reelin' from that unhesitatingly cruel announcement from our _beloved _Kaicho. (That still kinda rankled, honestly.)

"_I mean, the running away and all. I didn't need to do things like that. I guess I just wasn't in any mood ta listen, ya know? Not that that's a good enough excuse for anything."_

All I know is that when Kurogane told me what Wanko said during the fight, I had to do something about it. Truth told, I hadn't exactly _planned _to ask her to partner up with me. I didn't even know _why _I felt the need to talk to her. Just knew that I did.

"_Anyway, yeah I just wanted to say thanks. I guess. You were, uh, really worried about me, so Kurogane says."_

I figured that I wanted to say "thanks for the concern and all it was nice" or somethin' similar. But then I did and it sounded right stupid. Thanks? For being worried? How lame is that? This weird, scary girl had spent the last few days chasing me just ta warn me, not giving up in spite o' me making every effort to _avoid _her the past few days. That took guts and persistence. I don't think I coulda done it if it was me. If someone were too stubborn to take the help I was trying to offer out of the goodness of my heart, I woulda just given up and let them fall. Don't want my help? Fine. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

"_So look. I obviously didn't get what I wanted. That's fine, I guess. I tried and that's what matters. But see. I wanted to, well. Gah! You wanna partner up?"_

I don't know who was more surprised, between the two of us. Soon as those words popped outta my mouth we both stopped. Hell, if it'd been possible for a girl to melt into the ground, I woulda been a puddle on the mud in five seconds flat. Poor Wanko looked like she'd gotten the full brunt of Mr. Nailbat she was so out of it. Then I thought for a second and realized, yeah hey this could work. This girl was Weird, Creepy, and Scary with capital letters and probably some dozen neon signs and a lot of me was sweatin' at the idea of _willingly _puttin' myself in with someone like that, but it could _work._

"_It's alright if you don't. I wouldn't blame ya for hating me after the last few days."_

How would it work? I didn't know anything about her, except for memories of a scary looking girl who was all bows and apologies and just plain shy stuttering out that my towel wasn't actually mine and a whole lotta other nonsense that I waved away at the time. But I did know that she was a person who cared about a complete stranger enough to try and warn her from doing some stupid thing for an even stupider reason. Someone like that wasn't scary. Well, she was. Definitely, undeniably scary, and even a blind person could see that, but not where it counted.

"_I wasn't exactly friendly and all, and I know we never talked before, but how 'bout it?"_

I was nervous as I waited for an answer. I didn't get much of one either. Knowing her like I do now, she was probably too surprised to speak properly for hours after I fumbled around with that mess of a partnership suggestion. At the time, I took the quick nod and mumbled "I'd like that" as simple shyness. Even though I had just asked her to be my partner, there was still a lot 'o me begging to be away from there. I blame the hairstyle, personally. That was the reason I gave her the damned makeover in the first place. She's been a lot more outspoken since we changed it.

_And _a lot less scary. Seriously.

It was rough, in the beginning. We didn't really understand each other at all, and neither of us was good at talking about feelings or emotions. I couldn't even recognize simple jealousy around her! We were trying to make each other fit into the worlds we knew, and it just wasn't workin' out, until loser Kiji interfered. As annoying as Otoha is, at least something good came outta that mess.

Wanko had said she didn't have friends before, and I was even willing to put up with loser Kiji if it meant that Wanko could count two more people in that small list. Much as I hated it, Kiji understood her way better than I did sometimes, even if they were on completely different levels where their powers were concerned. Michi, at least, was a good influence, and she seemed to like dragging my partner around. Wanko needed that, needed more people to not care how creepy she could be, or how shy she was. Kurogane and Mudou and Kuga too. Six friends may not sound like much, but compared to having none before, that was a lot.

Learning how to fight together was...interesting. Our fighting styles were complete opposites, and we didn't have a single damned clue as to how we were supposed to fight together. I expected her to back me up with her sword, and she expected me to stand back and let her use her abilities first. There was lots of frustration on my part, and spell mishaps on her part. I still cringe when I think back to that one week I was caught in four of her spells, out of the five fights we'd had. I think I coulda counted the hours of sleep I got that week on one hand.

The worst part was that I couldn't really _tell _her what was frustrating me until it got to the point where it all came spilling out angrier than I really was. Rio-nee used to say that I'm too hardheaded and impulsive to deal with things all subtle-like. Well I definitely wasn't subtle then, and I was harsher than I had a right to be. I'm more careful now. I wasn't really fond of hurting people's feelings, and hurting Wanko's had suddenly become the one thing I didn't_ ever _want to do again.

Eventually I had this genius thought. If I wanted to understand Wanko a little more, I needed to look into her magic stuff and figure out what the hell I was in for. Aside from the stuff I already knew, and had the bad luck to get up close and personal with. I'm _really _glad her aim has improved. Only the wide area spells catch me off guard these days.

Well. It was harder than I thought. Why the hell were there so many different kinds of magic?! Strange words bounced in my head and then bounced right back out. I was nearly kicked outta the library for slamming books, and people started givin' me funny looks 'cause I constantly glared at whatever unhelpful text was stuffed in my bag. Frustrated I finally came across something _somewhat _useful. It said that seeing auras or whatever was the most basic skill. I couldn't remember exactly what kind of magic this was, but it sounded decent. Kiji complained about people's auras all the time, and Wanko could usually agree. If the both of them could do it even if they had different kinds of magic, then it _had _to be worth lookin' into.

I lost interest a few days later. I had kinda gotten it when it started mentioning colors and stuff. It was sorta like a mood ring, only instead it was just a cloud thing around people that only some could see. I didn't read until later that seeing the colors was the _advanced _level. After two days of annoying the hell out of Kiji by staring at her blankly, I gave up. I was getting kinda tired of Wanko constantly asking if I was okay, or hitting me upside my head to snap me out of my dazes. That and Michi started to round on Kiji for testing her hypnosis on me, which made the girl even more annoyed with me. It was safer to stop.

I would just have to learn the good old hard way. I only hoped my soul would survive until graduation.

**~End~**

**I know it's short. Don't kill me. I don't play with them often after all, and I can't just dive in there and pull a ten page story. That may yet come in the future however.**

**Don't hold your breath.**

**Anyway, lighthearted stuff is a bit difficult for me to write at the moment, and anything like fluff makes me physically ill. I'm not exaggerating in the least. I wish I was, 'cause then I'd be able to read half of my books I've got waiting on my Kindle. It is curious though. Romance has always been That Thing That Happened To Other People, but I've never actively _disliked _it. This is probably why the last two fics I've gotten to rough draft stage are depressing and hardly fluffy at all.**

**OH YEAH! And don't be afraid to let me know where the hell my (lack of) editing skills missed something! Please. I assure you, the typos don't happen because I'm illiterate or just don't know proper English. More like because I am impatient and skim through things.**


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